Today, we are talking with our Middle School Principal – Ken Parliman. Ken started his career in education as an 8th grade math teacher. He then transitioned into an instructional leadership role as a middle school math coach. A few years ago, he joined the Salisbury team as our assistant principal. This past fall, he assumed the role of principal. Ken works diligently to balance the important daily operation tasks with instructional leadership to move his building forward. We are featuring Ken on the show because he has recently created an updated flexible learning space in his middle school building. This space is a common area and can be signed out by teachers. It is also used as a professional learning space with teachers.

Here are some of the topics we discussed:

If you have listened to our podcasts, you know we are asking many of our guests the same question! What is your beautiful question behind your learning space pilot?

Ken, help us understand why you decided to pursue this flexible learning space pilot? What were you hoping to achieve?

How did you leverage teacher leadership in the creation of this learning space?

What are the components of this learning space, and how is it different from a traditional middle school classroom?

How does this learning space meet the needs of middle school learners?

What has been the teachers’ and/or students’ reactions to this new space? How can you envision this space providing additional opportunities for students?

What is your biggest takeaway from the creation of this space?

Join the Conversation

Each episode we leave you with a couple of questions to think about…with the idea of provoking conversation. This episode’s question:

What is something you would like to change about a learning space in your classroom or building?